Kitchen Garden Forum

I have regular failures in growing cauliflowers - usually they either stay tiny or sprout in all directions before maturity, or go brown. The plot seems to produce cabbages, sprouts etc OK.
Can an expert please give me, say, a five point list of "musts" to get success with caulis? Many thanks
John N

I await replies with bated breath because I've been equally unsuccessful. Even when I've bought seedlings from a garden centre I still end up with miserably little crowns or blown brown centres.

Sorry, John, you'll have to wait a bit longer for an 'expert' to reply. All I can do is share with you are the results of my own limited caulie successes!
My summer caulies were always a complete failure - despite fleece or netting protection, most were devoured by pests long before maturity. Autumn ones were a little better, as the plants seemed better able to withstand bug attack-still with protection until end of September-with heads forming after the bugs had retired for winter! However, I have found that spring ones are the easiest of all to grow . On my first attempt, a couple of years ago, I nearly gave up on them mid-april, as there was no sign of heads. I decided to give them one more week, and in that time they had developed quite sizeable heads, that quickly grew became large and solid.
I now limit my cauliflower growing to spring varieties - at this moment I have a couple of rows of Walcheren Winter 3 (I think it's spelt like that)just starting to form heads.
As with all brassicas, I try to make sure the ground is well manured. I start my plants off in modules in a polythene-covered greenhouse. When planting them out, I firm them in well, although on my heavy soil I don't think this is particularly necessary. Then I cover them to keep pests, both aphids and rabbits, at bay. Unless it's needed elsewhere, I'll leave it the netting all summer. Interestingly, I thought last year's crop was doomed to failure, as the newly-planted seedlings toppled over due to lack of water a week after transplanting, thanks to someone who will remain nameless! But they slowly recovered and went on to head up perfectly. This highlights just how forgiving they can be.
So my basic advice is try growing a spring variety, and be patient.

Caz, I think you had the answer - never ever let caulis go without water. They need continued growth from the seedling stage right through to maturity. Any check in their growth will result in poor curds.

Beryl.

That's what I thought too, Beryl, but the caulies that nearly died of drought went on to form really good heads - much to my amazement. That's what has led me to think that overwintering ones are much more tolerant of a bit of neglect than the rest!

caz, my experience is almost exactly the same as yours. My Purple Cape and Allthe Year Round caulis get the same treatment as you give them and I'm usually delighted with them. This year, however, the white ones will be very disappointing, for 2 main reasons, i think:
[a] the seed is 4 years old.
[b] I've grown them in raised beds and didn't plant them deeply enough.

But I also believe that Beryl is right in the main: if you are able to get to the plot and water, water, water, until the plant is well established, you'll get a good crop - provided they are very firmly and deeply planted. Mind you, I've done quite well with weekly soakings and lots of mulch, but not this year.

mike

Hi Mike,
I have long since ceased to grow Cauliflowers and grow a succession of Purple sprouting Broccoli's.
Call me a defeatist if you will but quite frankly I found them not to be worth the ground they take.
I found that I was only getting about one cauli in five to grow properly and decided to grow Broccoli instead. From PSB you get at least 10 meals per plant and with Cauli's two at most.
JB.

I've never tried them before but am going to give them a go this year. My plot neighbour had a fabulous crop last year so I'm going to ask for some hot tips. If he tells me anything that's not already on here I'll let you know.

I guess you've bought your seed but as I have recently discovered how to get to the RHS trials here is the link again http://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/awards2006.asp if you scroll down there is a cauli trial. I thought they were hungry things but they appear not to feed them. I might be wrong but I think as they often produce floppy seedlings we have a tendency to plant them too deep and I don't think they like it. I usually fail too but I have a tray of Snowball hardening off at the moment just to show I am a glutton for punishment.

I have some from Seeds Of Italy thanks Geoff, but I've bookmarked the link for future reference.

Hi Johnn

Summer cauli's are definately the hardest vegetable to grow successfully.
I am the only plot holder on our allotments ever to harvest cauli's. Others may plant them,but they never reach maturity for them,for whatever reason.
Some plot holders say to me,they are not worth the bother!
I do share my surplus with them,as Cauli's are always all ready at the same time,without fail, no matter when you plant them out.
They are also the only vegetable that I spray with insecticide, it is not very pleasant cutting open a cooked part to find a dead cooked slug or caterpillar inside.

Summer varieties used are Dominant from (King's Seeds) and Snowball.
The Autumn and Austrailian types are more successfully harvested,if not sown too early, May onwards is fine.
When planting into the soil'I always sprinkle some lime into the planting hole and on the soil around it!

They do need lots of TLC at all times,with very regular supplies of water.
When I come to harvest them, I pick them quite small, as when they get larger they start to taste like "rusty nails".
I have given up trying to grow the Spring types (overwintered) as all I was doing was providing food for Pheasants, pigeons and rabbits.

Ps I do have lots of failures with them,but I keep sowing for succession,so there is usually successes as well!

Cheers!

Thank you, one and all. The positive message received is that it's not all my incompetence - I feel a lot better after that revealation!! Plan of action? Don't think I'll bother!
John N

This wasn`t my question but it`s made me feel a lot better too.
I always thought it was just my ineptness that caused my lack of success with caulis.
Now I know that other factors can be part of the problem - - as well as my ineptness!

We have given up growing winter caulis because only about 50% produced good heads and they take up so much room for such a long time, BUT they never ever had caterpillars!

On the watering front: I put a bottomless plastic bottle upside down next to each plant and water into that, so that the water gets to the roots before it runs away.

I take your point, Johnboy, but I love the taste of Purple Cape, and sometimes you can get a second sprouting from the sides of the cut vegetable. I realise that this is really a heading broccoli rather than a true cauliflower. I've enjoyed the taste of my caulis too, which head just after the purple sprouting has finished. However, I think I'll experiment with different varieties of purple sprouting, which I understand has summer and autumn varieties as well as the usual spring ones.

mike